Bowman challenges D.C. on coronavirus

Although tens of thousands of people in New York have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, one political challenger wants to know why the federal government isn’t doing more.

And Jamaal Bowman isn’t just pointing fingers at President Donald Trump, but he’s also challenging Congress, including the incumbent for the House seat he’s seeking, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel.

“We need to respect and protect the people who we are asking to put their lives at risk to protect and serve the rest of us,” Bowman said, in a release. “Those in the food industry, care industry, the health care industry need to be tested and cleared first. They’re on the front lines of this crisis, making it possible for the rest of us to stay at home.”

The federal government has decentralized most of the coronavirus testing so far, which is why some states seem to have progressed much further than others in terms of getting people tested. New York continues to lead not only in current confirmed coronavirus cases, but also in tests. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has boasted New York has tested more people per capita than any other state, and even most other countries that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

Still, Bowman believes more can be done.

“New York is the epicenter of the pandemic, and we need to dramatically increase access to testing, and the rate in which we get results, Bowman said. “Meanwhile, Trump is stumbling over the Defense Production Act. I have some straightforward questions for him:

So many words have been written and spoken about Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer since all four feet, seven inches of her first walked onto the public stage in 1980. She’s lived just south of us in Washington Heights since well before she was known outside her circle of friends. And many of her family — including a daughter and grandchildren — call Riverdale home.